Jeremy Shockey wants officials held accountable

The Panthers put up over 500 yards of offense on the Bears Sunday, but they lost in part because they couldn’t take advantage of their chances in the second half of the game.

They were in scoring position three straight times to start the second half, and only ended up with three points. The Bears defense then clamped down in the fourth quarter.

One on of the fourth quarter drives, Jeremy Shockey scored a touchdown that was called back by offensive pass interference. The call was questionable; a small amount of contact sent cornerback Charles Tillman flying. (Here’s the video.)

Shockey was fired up about it after the game. He spoke despite a concussion in the game.

“We pay their salary and can’t get an explanation,” Shockey said via the Rock Hill Herald. “I’d like to see the explanation when they do get graded.

“They should be held accountable as well. They get paid a lot of money. They go around and hang out and do whatever they do before the game. Fly for free and do all kinds of [stuff] for free. Very disappointing, disheartening. I don’t know what else to say.”

We don’t either. It doesn’t look like the right call, but Tillman falling down on the ground so dramatically made it an easy call to miss.

I don’t know about this particular call (didn’t see it), but he’s got a point. These guys make a lot of bad calls and you never hear of any repercussions. Not that they’re aren’t any, but we don’t know about them.

panthersftw says:Oct 3, 2011 4:05 PM

This call cost us the game. And by my count, that is five touchdowns the panthers have had negated this season by very questionable calls.

If players get fined for mistakes on the field, refs should to. If they arent held accountable, what reason do they have to care if they mess up or influence outcomes? You cant make the argument that its a fast paced game and things will go wrong…because if thats the case, how do you justfy fining players?

He is right. If a ref doesn’t see a penalty and does not throw a flag, he missed it. But if you throw the flag, then you SAW something. What exactly did this ref see?
Nobody seems to be commenting on the fact that this flag was not thrown when the “infraction” occured, but it was thrown after the ball was arriving, when Shockey was obviously scoring.

When the line is 6.5 points and the refs take away 7, it makes it tough to win on the road. The Bears were holding on every play, and they got 2 penalties. There was an illegal man downfield not called. There was an illegal block in the back on Hester’s return–not called. Large market, small market. Becoming like the NBA.

riderspantherssk says:Oct 3, 2011 4:08 PM

Shockey has a point, not just about that play but NFL refs in general. Unlike everyone else who is visible on Sunday, referees are never held to account for how they perform. Maybe the NFL does fine or punish them in private, but when they won’t share that information with fans it makes it look like the refs get to go out there, make some cash, blow a whistle and go home no matter how bad of a job they do.

whhaaat says:Oct 3, 2011 4:09 PM

I’m sure Mike Pereira wants shockey to be fined too for trying to make the refs be accountable.

“Any penalty that results in 15 or more yards should be subject to review. These kinds of penalties can dramitcally swing momentum in any game.”

They review TDs to make sure they were legit, but they take away points when everyone in the stadium knows the call was bad. They should have a green flag to throw to challenge ref calls.

ncsteeler says:Oct 3, 2011 4:14 PM

So are we to believe Schokey never flopped to draw a PI call?

bearsrulepackdrool says:Oct 3, 2011 4:15 PM

hindsight is 20-20. After we look over the replay over and over of course we can say it was the wrong call. But, in the heat of the moment and action you see a player fully extend his arm and the defensive player fall you’re going to throw the flag.

Lastly, for the genius who wants any 15 yard penalty reviewed THAT IS CRAZY! The game is already long as it is with every TD reviewed. We can’t have every 15 yard reviewed. Especially if a team is driving or has momentum. The game would take FOREVER.

axltcu says:Oct 3, 2011 4:16 PM

This goes for all sports. I hate how officials are treated as if they are infallible. They do it this way because their afraid that if they admit the ref screwed up it ruins the integrity of the game. It’s a load of BS.

bearsrulepackdrool says:Oct 3, 2011 4:19 PM

Easy way to solve the problem. Put multiple refs in a booth upstairs, with multiple camera angles, so they can see the live play from different angles. Then have one ref on the field (connected to the refs in the booth) who stops play and throws flags based off of what the refs in the booth sees. So instead of taking forever and stopping the play for replay they can do it in real time.

Dont blame the refs. Remember they are not full time employees. they have other jobs during the week. On Mondays they are not in the film room. They are not at practices. The league needs to make these guys full time. Protect the shield by giving the game the best. Give the refs the time and resources to improve. At one time players were part time too. Look at them now and the product we receive as they work almost around the clock.

klunge says:Oct 3, 2011 4:25 PM

In principle Shockey is correct, but think about the long term effect…who will the majority of fans scapegoat their teams’ losses on if the officiating becomes legit???

When are the other leagues going to catch up with the NHL when it comes to replay review? There’s absolutely no reason a trained ref can’t make these calls from an office with 10 TV feeds. It would cut down review time by a significant amount.

The Stevie Johnson call was terrible. Reversing the PI on Jacoby Ford was attrocious. Ngata basically speared Sanchez in the back and no flag. Officiating is either getting so complicated that it simply can not be done correctly, or these refs are becoming more and more inept. Fix it Roger.

nesuperfan says:Oct 3, 2011 4:32 PM

Not a fan of either team, but I think the call was correct.

I don’t think it was a dive. The defender was clearly just off-balance, and was falling. Shockey just happened to give him enough of a push to seal the deal.

Like the commentator said, I think he had the guy beaten, but Shockey gave a second, illegal and unnecessary, chuck, and got caught.

He is right. If a ref doesn’t see a penalty and does not throw a flag, he missed it. But if you throw the flag, then you SAW something. What exactly did this ref see?
Nobody seems to be commenting on the fact that this flag was not thrown when the “infraction” occured, but it was thrown after the ball was arriving, when Shockey was obviously scoring.

When the line is 6.5 points and the refs take away 7, it makes it tough to win on the road. The Bears were holding on every play, and they got 2 penalties. There was an illegal man downfield not called. There was an illegal block in the back on Hester’s return–not called. Large market, small market. Becoming like the NBA.

—

Quit crying…you lost. Everyone holds. Every time a team loses “They were holding all game long”

panthersfan83 says:Oct 3, 2011 4:36 PM

We don’t get any kind of calls. The helment to helment hit on Smith wasn’t called or the lineman 15 yards down field blocking on a screen. Then the Shockey pass interference and they called Dan Connor for pass interference when he hit Forte coming through the line. We get no respect!!!

If this request was made by a decent player that would be different. But coming from Charlotte’s tity bar’s VIP customer, it just doesnt hold much water.

fordman84 says:Oct 3, 2011 4:51 PM

Meh, PI is over and done with. The story in that video is the CHI defender launching himself at the end of the play. Was that #26? He CLEARLY leaves his feet, with his head down, and goes high on Shockey.

How was that not called?

hedleykow says:Oct 3, 2011 4:52 PM

I think what Shockey was trying to say is that many of the refs pretend to be employed by the NFL, but their real bosses are headquartered in Las Vegas.

nesuperfan…Id agree with you if the penalty was illegal contact…but there cant be pass interferance until the ball is in the air. Which furter makes the ref look like an idiot. He didnt throw the flag tell after the TD well after the illegal contact occured.

Some people on here want an official review for every penalty of 15 yards. Are you guys serious? This is a horrible idea on so many levels. Do you really wanna open the Pandora’s box of reviewing penalties? Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Next we’ll be reviewing out of bounds plays and first downs. But hey, there’s an upside into turning each game into a typical 7 hour Red Sox/Yankees barnburner… Oh wait, no there isn’t. Sour grapes guys. Let it go. You’ll get the benefit of one of these judgement calls sooner or later. The pendulum will swing in your favor too.

deadmanwalking47 says:Oct 3, 2011 5:13 PM

only vick gets by dissing the zebras and that is because he’s goodell’s boy!

gadgetdawg says:Oct 3, 2011 5:14 PM

Whatever anyone says about Shockey the man, he is correct about the fact the officials seem to be doing a subpar job lately. Games seem to be getting longer and longer while officiating appears to be getting worse.

When I watch a game on TV, the commentators seem to do a noticeably better job than the the refs in a fraction of the time (not perfect but better). Maybe it is time to move an official or two to a booth and let them make the hard calls.

lostsok says:Oct 3, 2011 5:16 PM

Regardless of whether a ref misses a call or not, players should NOT call them out in public. Shockey should be fined, if not suspended, or else…good call or bad…every player in the league will blame every loss EVERY week…on the refs.

Fine him. Suspend him.

Players can not and should not be allowed to referee the games. Not during the game; not after.

Anyone who can’t see that needs to step back and reengage their brain stem.

Foresight2011 says:Oct 3, 2011 5:23 PM

This was not the only call the officials missed in this game. There was a ton of excessive celebration calls that should have been flagged on both sides. Last time I checked, you can’t drop to the ground or use the ball as a prop in your celebration. That was done by both teams on their TD but the officials missed it. There was also some questionable spotting of the football in key moments. Shockey’s gripe is legit.

Yes, the PART-TIME officials that are barely paid, who have no guarantees in their contracts, that often get concussed and knocked out themselves (who are old men) are horrible horrible people.

buckybadger says:Oct 3, 2011 5:38 PM

People are so simple minded. The officials are all graded on their performance, much more scrupulous than you are at your job. If they continually grade out poorly they are removed from their post.

You can’t fire a ref after a single bad call or even a couple. All of them make mistakes, its an extremely hard to get them right and for the most part they do an excellent job.

The NFL of course should take care of this in house and only come out with a statement if it is absolutely needed. We don’t need a mob mentality after an official because he made a mistake. Don’t need families being threatened over a game which is what we would have if threw these guys to wolves after every questionable call that didn’t go in someone’s favor.

mwcarolina says:Oct 3, 2011 5:40 PM

it was a bad call, but didnt cost them the game, it just hurt them, what cost them the game was poor run defense and kicking to Hester.

henson58 says:Oct 3, 2011 5:44 PM

Bills fans are still whining about Steve Johnsons dropped pass? geez get over it. I know going 3-0 is the biggest thing to happen in buffalo since the early 90’s but I really don’t want to hear about it all year.

It’s apparent the NFL has become more than a game. It appears to me the gamblers have way too much influence on the game. What would happen if there was no gambling?

How much do the refs get paid?

I don’t know if the officiating really is bad this year or maybe there have been some major bad calls resulting in a lot of attention. Bad calls are part of the game. Suck it up and play on. The review process takes too much time as it is. You can’t legislate common sense.

The point is valid in itself, this call is questionable but if you look at it black and white it is valid, the gray area is that the DB was failling down anyway should it still be a call (NO). The real issue is that with the advent of player saftey more and more calls are expected. Which means more and more calls get missed. At the end of the day the NFL needs to look at restoring consistency through-out the officiating crews. Take a 2 week paid symposium have all the crews in and go over film study and rules.

I watched in Week 1 when the Pats were running in poeple right as the play ends then lining poeple up and calling the play at the line preventing Miami from subbing. The next week I watched Denver do something similar and the ref blew his whistle, because apparently there is a rule stating if the offense make a substitution, then the D is authorized time to make changes. Is this a case of a ref trying to help NE win, I doubt it, is it a case of a ref not being familiar with all rules, most likely. NFL refs should be a full time contract position. By that you are contract for the length of 1 year.

This gives time to train officials, analyze old tape, review calls, review rules, etc… ensuring all the refs are calling the game the same way, and hopefully the right way.

In the end Officials that have the ability to affect “games” that are part of a MULTI-BILLION dollar company, should be fulltime, meaning this is their only job.

I have noticed that all of the complaints about officiating this year have come from players on losing teams.

guyraider48 says:Oct 3, 2011 6:33 PM

shockey is right, imo. i saw replay and saw it as both were hand fighting and looking for the ball. its past 5 yards so that’s a potential pi on defense or off setting penalities. This is another example of inconsistency on calls especially those that change point swings in games. Full time paid refs would help

I’ve been watching football for as long as I can remember and over last decade I’ve seen it go from bad to worse. There are way to many penalties that are suggestive. Each week you never know if a close call on a catch will be overturned or not. You never know if a hit on a player is legal or not. You never even know if you can challenge a call(I’ve seen the same thing flip flop from week to week)
It kills me to agree with anything that Shockey says but this time he is sooo right.

The players’ screw ups are magnified when they are forced to sit there after the game, held accountable and, at times, crucified by the press. Some joke, some clam up, and others have meltdowns. Why are the refs not also thrust into this spotlight and forced to face the press? They are TV personalities too. Well, sorta.

With the advent of instant replay and multiple camera angles, it is very easy to pick out where mistakes may have been made. However, watch the replace in real time, and you may have made the same call as the official.

To Shockey I say this, put on your big boy pants and deal with it. You’ve gotten away with more than your fair share of questionable contact over the years, cut blocks, etc. The referees don’t get paid by YOU, they get paid by the league, who in turn makes money off US, the FANS, you peckersnot. So just keep in mind that they don’t work for you, they work for the league in an effort to keep play fair on the field. Next time, don’t touch the defender. Cause we all know you’d be crying a yellow river if you thought you were interfered with.

Bearfan54 says:Oct 3, 2011 6:45 PM

Shockey is also pissed about a play where a Bears player damn near took his head off when Shockey was already down I think is was Major Wright or Craig Stetlz. He was pissed after the play and was looking for a flag. But he’s a puss so who cares.

johnkoehnen says:Oct 3, 2011 6:52 PM

As a first-year official for youth football (under HS rules), I can say that it’s fricken tough to be a ref. And you get treated like absolute garbage by almost all the coaches, and a lot of the fans.

The refs I know who mentor me take the game very seriously. They do their best to make every call in a fair, unbiased and correct manner. If I had to deal with TV reviews, I don’t know what I would do, as every piece of the play would be scrutinized under a microscope.

I am certain that these guys are held accountable for their actions. Because there is a TON of competition among officials to make it to the pro levels. It’s not a gravy job, someone will replace you. I don’t know why the referee reviews/punishments aren’t shared with the general public, but I’m sure there is a reason for it.

I used to complain a lot about the referee’s calls -costing my team the game, being fixed, and what-not. But not anymore. Being a referee is damn hard. For everyone who complains about the refs each week, trying being one…

If players and clubs are going to get fined for either calling out the officiating or speaking out of turn that the league came to them in private and said “hey, we messed this up”…then the league and refs need to be held accountable *publicly*. If the League can go back and announce…after the fact…that plays that were never called for flags can be fined…then the League and refs need to be held accountable *publicly*. This smoke and mirrors, cloak and dagger cover-up the League does for the officiating staff is second in it’s BS-ness only to the fact that most of these officials have been officiating for a very long number of years and still can’t get it right on a consistent basis.

Deb says:Oct 3, 2011 6:56 PM

It’s truly frightening when a concussed player makes more rational comments about officiating than anything Goodell’s managed to say in five years. The commissioner constantly harps on the integrity of the shield. With the state of officiating in the league today, the shield has no integrity. Yesterday was just another in a series of Sundays where we had as many stories about questionable calls as heart-stopping plays.

@john
I commend you for Refing young leagues. However, please do not compare this to the pros. To begin with, this is your first year and it will be easier as time goes by(hang with it because it’s a great thing you are doing). But most importantly, these are professionals that are getting paid to do the job right. Also I’m sure it’s something that they have been doing their whole lives and it’s unacceptable to get it wrong as much as it is lately.
Having said that, I don’t put it ALL on the officials. The NFL needs all rules to be standard and not subjective from official to official.

Cant remember where I read it, but the referees are under so much pressure to call any and every ‘safety’ call they see – helmet to helmet, diving at QB’s knees, defenseless receiver, etc. – they have basically been told if they screw one of these up, they get the hook. Unfortunately, missing any other ‘football’ call doesn’t bring the same consequences, and they know it.

20bust11 says:Oct 9, 2011 10:44 AM

Most of Shockey’s catches involve pushing off before the catch. That is not to say he pushes off a lot, because he doesn’t catch the ball that often. His arm was fully extended, he made contact with the defender after the 5 yard line, end of story. It was a good call. That mouthy, poor excuse for a TE, needs some cheese with that whine.